Black Stars AFCON Qualification Failure: Who's to Blame & How to Fix It Fast!

[Music] on your morning radio uh but listen before we kick this all off let's give you some context now the black stars failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was confirmed on Friday night following the oneall draw against angula in Luanda now this draw means the black stars who are winless after five games sit at the bottom how do five Matches black St your head around and I mean just go look at the list of teams team they play sud they sit at the bottom of group f f group fail fa oh

my God Char this is not Ghana what's all together they have two points and they going now actually oh okay all right just stop stop stop stop and they're going to miss out on the fcor for the first time in two decades my son Wasn't even born the last time we missed out so OT the coach has been speaking after the game he admits that his team didn't deserve to win listen to him congratulations to Anga they didn't have any anything to lose today you could see they could play fre we were a little bit

more we were more under pressure and they pressed us very well well had held us down in our half it was good for us to play but we're missing our intensity and um yeah I think um it was not good enough from our the Ghan journalist or the foreign journalists both all right so let's let's find out what you know the experts have been saying we'll start with uh ghanian journalists okay Christopher nimley Daniel craning S Philip Asim all of them have been speaking about this and they actually believe that Otto's coaching has been subpar

listen to them he had set up the team for the team to go and fail that is why personally I Don't see him to even walk on the pit of of arra on Monday his resignation should be in by now if voto has got any pride in him and he wants to guarantee a coaching career he should exit the black stars job and go and get himself a team somewhere in some division somewhere if he can come and Coach any of local teams here you see it's reached that point where you need to assess whether

you are willing to wait for the person to grow and if the person is growing at the Right pace I don't think he's growing fast enough because the body of games we've played over the past 3 4 months since the international the season started so what it's been August no September October November you played five matches over this period I don't think we've seen considerable Improvement what was oto's attacking plan in these scenarios that if it is z0 and Ghana needs to find a goal what was he thinking that he would change about The team

that will put G on the front to give us an opportunity of creating chance and scoring or if it was one one as it were what was he think what was his thinking that he would change the shape he would change Personnel because the the the the performance at 0 0 the performance at 1 Z the performance at 1 one same it was the same thing that thing is heartbreaking and you know in the words of the great cap C philosopher From The Great Santa claan philosopher and the thing we Global so it's not just

the ghanian journalists who have been critical of the black stars okay uh Ghana's failure to qualify for afcon has drawn International criticism in the UK The Guardian newspaper said there was no Organization no leadership no direction in Ghana football and that the country was wasting a generation of talents my heart even the USA is criticizing us About football CBS pundits Michael lud and Nigel Rio coka Rio coka used to play for West H oh my goodness injured Michael Asen in 2006 that's why the sorry I saying a western player C can talk some of our

matter he's telling us that it's an embarrassment that requires house cleaning listen to them Ghana not qualifying for afcon n that is incredible this is a Ganan side that they've been on the slide they've been in just a really bad way the last two Afcons they've been one of the worst teams at afcon they're not unified the Federation is in a mess and when you talk about a dark dark period for a national team you talk about a dark dark chapter for a federation like the Gan Federation Nigel this has to be the darkest of

them all it is the darkest first time they haven't qualified since 2004 uh there has to be a clearing of the house process for me because it's inexcusable this is Ghana they produce Some of the top talented football players that we've seen talk about Michael Essen and right now kudus like there's so much talent there and for them not to qualify it's an absolute okay wow all right so I mean you know that obviously many former players look even us who have never played for black stars the thing the pen us so you can imagine

that former players to have been you know complaining suggesting and they said that look they've been giving him Ideas but the guy is not receptive to so somebody asked him about it and you know this guy used to be the talent coach for Dortmund right the CL yes he said oh he likes feedback that's just not from just anybody CL if clpp if klopp gives feedback hey feedback you listen to the man himself people can judge me and surely most of the people would Judge Me by the results which were not good but I Have

I have friends I have mentors I have you know I I don't know if you know but I trained under MAA Zama I was trained under Club I was was trained trained or I was assistant to Ed T who was the topon head coach and surely we exchanged and and for me this is relevant you know if they say this or that and they're also Critical with some things and I understand this but this has much more value if I speak to Young club and he tells me this or that or if I send him

maybe some scenes then somebody from anywhere saying oh this B nicely done to Cano to Cano's delivery oh only got the far as mil mil mil go the [Music] score in fact the in the B no wait what has Club got to do with what CL he knows ghanian football he's been studying our football our game our players no no no but is he trying to tell me that this is what kop told him to do fair point I Mean no seriously he's trying to tell that this is this is what klopp told him to

do with the black stars anyway look let's let's let's get into this conversation all right H some people's crash is on the line Veronica K is a sports journalist CK akuno used to run the black stars as coach and here in the studio fent tahiro fent so nice they named him twice uh Veronica and CK good morning to you Both hi good morning K how are you and who is crashing this morning oh Veronica don't let me do some Confessions on some people is cring I'll be confessing on some people's behalf this morning and on

your own behalf hi Mama how are you today hi I'm very well thank you listen it's always refreshing here in from you I can't wait for the analysis from your side and Coach so kind love you guys in the studio so much coach long time yeah a Long time yeah you and me we used to meet in somebody's house every now and [Laughter] then we will not we will not reveal those Secrets this morning thank you so much for making the time uh to be with us today but I want to start with you fent

look how the heck did we get here I surprises are you talking to me or I'm starting with fent and then I'll come to you and Vero in just a in just a moment coach um listen uh just reacting Immediately to what Oto said about taking or valuing feedback from klopp uh more than from ghanians in fact he described the charter from ghanians as blah blah um that's what he said he said he values the feedback from people like klopp and Tage more than all the black blah blah that's been coming from ghans you know

and I just want to read something that our colleague fifii posted in response to this he says ot's claims of working with club uh don't Excuse his failure to qualify us for the 24 team tournament his inability to achieve his goal raises questions about his leadership Ghana deserves better blaming others or boasting about past associations will not improve our football we need accountability and we need results on unfortunately others comments come across as deflecting responsibility Ghana should strive for higher standards in football management we need coaches Who deliver not just Coaches who talk and this

sums up my thoughts completely about otad and I think he hasn't necessarily helped himself but you asked the question about how we got here I think it's been uh years of bad leadership uh incompetent decisions and a combination of uh some arrogant posturing and a refusal to accept the reality from when it started staring Us in the face now I will begin with and the issues are a variety you know it's a Uh a confession of issues so you have the association uh who had a massive opportunity coo to reset our football when the first

came into office in October 2019 that year we had failed to make the semi-finals of an afcom for the first time in six afcons because from 2008 all the way to 2017 Ghana had always been in the top four of every afcon yeah so 208 2010 uh 2012 2013 2015 2017 6 afcons in a row we were in the Semi-finals and we made the finals twice yeah in that period then in 2019 for the first time since 2008 we got kicked out in the round of 16 of the competition then right there and then there

were signs of a declining football fortunately for us this was also the time when we were going through normalization we had kicked all our problems so we resetting we were resetting mhm and now it's January of that year during that period we were in normalization then in October we had an election and a new fa came into office they had the massive opportunity to reset a lot of things lots of Goodwill and they came with a lot of Goodwill so fix our youth football fix our women's football fix our systems and even our league and

they had a lot of this this conversations around what they are they were capable of doing and People believed and trusted them and handed them the Mandate so what did they do the first point of action when they came into power was make a decision to S appear so the S who are taking out the afcon um and they got rid of him fair enough and everybody believed in what they were about to do then they brought our good friend CK who's on the line so CK came in Co came in and then he was

in charge for that period he was playing afcon qualifiers and he was Playing World Cup qualifiers and during that period we came up with a decision again from the same fa that CK was not good enough and even though he had qualified US for the afcon we sacked him they said he wasn't good enough and he had also led us on the to the brink of qualifying to the final phe of the World Cup qualifiers we go rid of him so that is the the second decision this fa made in terms of coaching Decisions alone

they sacked ck2 and then they went back to 2010 and brought Milo who had not had a job in nearly 10 years who was outdated with ideas one we went and we brought and then Milo took us to the afcon in camaron and we had our worst afcon in history right after that afcon another opportunity for them to have sat down consulted and realized that we made massive mistakes so let's see how we can move forward bring in stakeholders Instead they didn't do that the fa president went on ASM granted an interview and said all

the talent we have in our country that is what we have and that if anybody has a Messi or Ronald somewhere go and bring them that's why I remember that I remember that that was when we got kicked out so the CK Milo all under this leadership so then after that so he came and he told us that nonsense then they Sacked Milo to and they went to bring ot to come and take us to the world playoff Oto went we played two games against Nigeria we didn't win but somehow we held on WE qualify

for the World Cup so in that afcon in 2021 which was played in January 22 we finished bottom of the group we got kicked out by koros bear in mind and he said that our players were not good enough to beat koros and if I go through that Squad and go through the Kos Squad you yourself Would determine who has the better team but he said that that was the best and that was the best we could do so then we got rid of Milo brought in OT he qualified US for the World Cup Oto

went to the World Cup and finished bottom of the group he won one game he considered seven goals in three matches then Oto said yeah he has a job at dmore so we should come out for there he doesn't like the job so he went so we went and brought Chris hon the same this Same Administration the BR he also came and he took us to the afcon in codo we went they we finished bottom of the group again they sacked him and they went and begged me in fact they went and begged OT they

put together a criteria for uh the the next coach the criteria does not meet one qualifying I mean getting out of afcon L was one of it right wasn't it a condition not just That I mean the criteria for the new coach before they H Oto when they s him they put together a committee and they put together a criteria that the new coach must meet in order to be hired as coach and I'm saying that then they went round and around went to bring Oto back They begged him to come back we even PID

Dore money to bring for him to leave his job there and come but Oto did not meet a single one of the criteria that we put out for the new head coach but we went And we brought him back he came first two friendly matches against Uganda against Nigeria he lost 111 then we came uh he lost one and DW one then we played World Cup qualify and this is where it gets tricky we won two games against Mali away from home and at home we be central afrian four 43 and at the time it

looked like we had turned the corner H by this country when they say turn the corner you have to look at the you have to take the statement you have to you Have to be critical you understand because somebody said when you turn the corner in the bush you are lost but so I'm saying that so we believe that Oto had made some improvements and then afon qualifiers started he lost Angola at home in Kumasi we all blame the pitch we said the pitch didn't help then they went away to play against Niger in the

ground the game was played in Morocco not in Niger in Morocco with Drew 1 if you watch that Game it looked like we we didn't want to win at all then we hosted Sudan here AIA came here we played draw we went and we got beaten so in five matches in qualifiers he has not won a single game U we have scored two goals considered was afcon and maybe we can come to that after was afon a condition Haven qualifi for you say what so so listen so you have an fa that have consistently made

bad decisions in terms of the coachings that They have hired let's not even go into the a you development and the players that we have that is another matter that I'm sure CK will address but I'm saying that the fa they've consistently you you alone you have hired five coaches when you continuously make decisions and the decisions continuously prove to be bad decisions it's not time to look at the people making their decisions let me bring in Veronica and look Fenwood lays the blame squarely on the doorstep of The fa but look I want I

I I want to know whether you think it goes beyond them I mean do we do we have a certain decline in the quality of footballers so that no matter what the fa decides the quality that we will end up presenting in any given game is just less than what we used to have it's impossible to excuse the FP or the leadership of the FP in all of this because for example if you have a kid in Classic and you are looking to improve the kid or you are looking for a teacher who is able

to help the kid I do not think for the life of me that you'll be looking at uh a teacher who is in maybe class one or grade one who is in experience that's not what you do and everything the fa has done in terms of getting a coach every year because they've been in power for a year has proven to be very poor the sessions have been very poor in every sense of the Word and if you even go beyond selecting the coaches you will notice one Trend every time they put together a committee

and that's been the same committee looking for the same coaches that after a year they think it's not good enough it means there is a problem it's either the people looking for the coaches do not have the technical knowhow they do not understand what they are looking for or they just simply don't get the job because I do not see how you make a Mistake one twice repeat it five times and there is no problem with with how you are seeing through or how you question things or exactly what you are looking for so you

cannot excuse the fa in all of this meanwhile if you even look Beyond just the coaches all the things we do surrounding the black stars the number of players we have called The Last 5 Years which I know is beyond 80 the fact that there is no consistency in the team the fact that when you look at Our team today we have a lot of good players at their Club side play playing week in week out making a lot of impact but when they are pieced together in the team there is a complete lack of

coh if you are talking about any serious essay you are not looking at one that is speaking today or only a few weeks ago that they are now going to develop a DNA for our national team we have always had identity it used to be a gr it came to multistem and a lot has changed let's Say at some point we an identity crisis I have been advocating that as a nation it is important for us to have a policy on exactly what we want to do so long-term shortterm medium-term whatever and a policy that

transcends just an EIC coming to power and hanging hanging everything on a slogan about bringing back the LA and doing things contrary to exactly the sense that will bring back the love so you cannot take the fa out of this question at all because for Example if I just want to even dwell on their decision to bring uh OT ad it's been such a massive failure that it is so sad because you bring out your own criteria like fto mentioned and he doesn't meet one I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone would

a plume product like the black stars will decide that I'll will bring an inexperienced coach who is a trainer Scout at a club level without any record except Qualifying through a playoff for the team to go to the World Cup finish last in their group and come home and bring someone like that to salvage a situation or a sinking boat that has been coming since 20 2019 and then decide to give the person two inexperienced assistant coaches you set us you set us up to fail and I don't know why the fa would do such

a thing because every indication was on the wall that this appointment looks bad and it was not going to take Us anywhere and when we were put to the test we have failed miserably Mama V was asking whether the kpis of Oto includes qualifying as for the Nations cup I think it is so basic that if the F did not include it in his contract everybody should be calling for the heads of the F but I am s I'm sorry in this country we have been calling for this for so long and it looks like

leadership I'm talking about the presidency do not care at all otherwise we won't have the essay and The ministry with their various head operating like they do or they have been doing the last few years so unfortunately we are in a big MSE and the ability of the a to even accept that we are in a m without acting as though it's business as usual it's a conversation we can begin to have so unfortunately this has been coming you could almost take most of our Tes in terms of uh teasing out the issues analyzing go

into the archives of time And you may see that we have been talking about the same thing for a while now it's unfortunate that the international press is putting the spotlight on us but if that is what it takes for the estate to set up for government of Ghana to see the embarrassment Beyond not just having a pitch to play on that the president had to intervene then maybe so might it be H all right coach coach see you know that me I'm paranoid so I I I always Think somebody is up to something it's

very hard for me to believe that K is just that incompetent it seems to me there is some kind of benefit to this continuous making of poor decisions the returning of otu to this position after he failed the first time around it just beggar belief so you tell me you have been in the eye of the storm before is there something going on is there some kululu going on is there some benefit to continuously putting the worst possible People in charge of the black stars well I I I I think um for me um I

can only speak when when I was there you know it would be unfair on my part to talk about the current situation now um you guys know better and you You' you've spoken a lot A lot has been spoken um it to be unfair on my part I don't know the psyche of the of the boys before going to a match and a lot happens before a match you know before the coach even comes in so um I don't Know I I cannot tell exactly what is going on but on the outside we can clearly

see that it's not really really going going well I can only speak when I was there and when I was there was the time when I think very well somebody made mention of it co it was very very difficult you don't have control of the situation yeah you know and you invite players before they come their clubs are reluctant to to release them they don't they don't they will tell you uh the Player has Co even when they get here I think two days or before a March uh you have to do the test again

and sometimes you'll be surprised that one of your key players or whatever will be out because he's got Co and it can unsettle the team settle unsettle the coach and and it was a very very difficult difficult moment but we managed to to qualify for the for thec yeah so look I mean I I understand that you know you you performed under some very Difficult circumstances but everybody is asking whether the fa is the problem so talk to us about your relationship with the fa all right I think again I'll speak uh when I was

there I I I thought that I needed necessary support I I don't think they they gave me the support I wanted um it was difficult for me a lot of people think K was my friend and that and that is it's the opposite you know I didn't have the N support That I needed from him and of course the entire fa were also not too happy with my works and and eventually they got rid of me were they interfering with your selection I had I had I mean I had issues issues of uh selecting players

um this boy who even now playing for n it was one of the guys who who I I wanted I forgotten the name escap me na najim exactly you know him and other guys they fought me not to bring him you know and now he he's with he's playing For n ja so there there there were a few things that that I I I I I struggled you know and um I thought again like somebody would say k is a friend I work with him in ra to uh uh uh dreams but it was it

was a different different story obviously he had his own ideas of doing things and and he didn't it didn't work you know it didn't work as I I I I expected and so there were challenges some after I've been home I've thought about it and some I can Understand some I don't and but I the truth of the matter is uh I went through a a very very difficult situation it was me coach I want to ask you from from from the position of somebody who is not into all the technicalities as a coach of

the Black Star how does it work do you determine the players you want to work with are you free to choose from local players uh is there you know like a condition for you to choose foreign players and then Who decides your playlist yeah I mean you you you you go and have a team you make your team yourself and exactly what you what you want to be done the kind of players you want and of course they also bring their views on on on on sometimes it could be uncomfortable you know I understand that

uh they have to look into it I understand that football is not done by one person alone uh there should be some guidance and and so and in my case I Think um it was it was not a situation where we working together it was a situation where things were were a little bit of in a mess when you know when we go into uh decide for player it's always not comfortable some of the guys will be if they will be honest likeu and their Liv they would tell they would say it I don't have

to come out uh to say it's sometimes it's it's really a fight and at the end of the day you know The media doesn't know some of them will criticize you say something which I also understand uh and and you can also not come out to speak in certain certain uh things which which will be unfair you know and and so it's it's it's difficult situation but can I ask you from the not not from you as a former black star coach I mean you're a black stars person if you look at the kind of

team that you we have the the this recent performance what do you Think I mean what what's what's the issue I it's sad it's sad like I I heard somebody said our first two matches against Mali and then I thought this was positive this was I was very happy it was going very very well and then all of a sudden things like I said I cannot speak for for them now because I'm not there I don't know what is going on yeah so no so not not not your not not not an insiders thought I

mean you are CK on the side you see I I come out as a coach And for for that matter it's not it's not okay if if somebody is speaking of a team that doesn't know anything doesn't have any connection with the team and speaking I I feel it's unfair and so I won't be able to to speak much um I I can like I said I can only speak uh whil I was a coach and I think I've told you what what what in a in a way it was good it was bad and

but we didn't we didn't really find a solution especially with me and and I Was fine all right listen if you just joined us we're talking to Veronica k c to in the studio Morning Show is 9:25 everybody's heartbroken about the black stars and I mean we're just trying to figure it all out we've got fto in the studio we've got CK akuno former coach of the black stars on the line alongside Veronica come who's a sports journalist listen let let's let's get to the heart of things fento you have a question for Coach CK

right yeah uh CK good morning Um quick one for you before I even ask my question did Oto uh come to you to seek advice before he took the Ghana job and what exactly did you tell him this is a question that Fifi Taki wants me to ask you um no but of course when um I think his first time when things were not really going on well I called him I I you know and we do talk every now and then um I've met him in Germany uh a couple of times we've spoken and

we Have we are good friends he has good character he's a good guy and and and that I will support him any any any time oh okay um here's my question you were getting out of the black stars team you were just leaving the team around 2004 when we didn't qualify uh since that incident 20 years ago we made a really good comeback from then on because two years later we qualify for the World Cup uh and then we we hosted the afcon then we did uh six semi-finals In a row made two finals in

that period so that was a pretty good recovery from a very low moment when you look at where we are right now uh not qualifying for the tournament from where you said what do you think we can do what steps must we take if we want to get back to the top for you what are the critical steps we must take right now I mean I think uh we have to have a plan that goes beyond profitability we we need to look at our youth football you know I've always said This and I don't know

how far it's gone but if we don't do it now we already late we have to look at our under 17 under 20 under 23 the local black stars and then the to the national team because if we don't do it now and we don't start to really try to strategize how to go about it continue to be talking like the way we talking now where did the the lives of [Music] Surari this were was the best generation we had they played from the 17 you'll be surprised that Li and at Trum knew each other

since 10 years they've been playing together since 10 years I just recently found found out obviously when it happens like that there's some progression you know that they met in on 17 on 20 and to the end then at the time when we went we want we needed them most they delivered that is the black stars They made us proud all over the world their name is known but these guys started from somewhere I'm using them as an example because uh we were we were we we we were successful with them you know they played

I think from the under 17s to the under 20s and then they got into the blastar and they did so well we have to go back again and do that that same thing if we don't do it you know now most of the time we we tend to the Professionals it's not bad but we need to have a home based that we groom and if we for that they will also travel abroad and and a big place the better you know but if we don't do that now if we don't look into it properly and

do it well we will still be standing we'll be talking about the same issue in 56 years time and that is my my biggest fear and and CK says that we have to have a plan Beyond Profitability uh for anyone that probably has a doubt in what he meant by that CK just to clarify you're saying that we should have a plan that is targeted at giving the best young players in the country the opportunity when when you are asked to Ser when you asked to do something for Ghana either coach assistant coach or whatever

you are there to serve you are to serve my brother it is not about how much you make obviously You have to be paid for for for for the job but we have to understand this concept this understanding that we are there to serve to Serve the People football as we all know brings everybody together you can see MPP and NBC person talking about and they have the same language that is the only thing that brings us together after these elections what are we going to any party who wins what are we going to talk

about the football that we cherish so much we're Not going to be in the AF and it will be sad it will bring divisions we have to take this thing serious it's important yeah you know I I I Rec went to Germany and the German the ghanians who are when they meet you any they were asking what is happening was I came I I came a few days ago it is the same thing people are worried you know so these things should be done proly and that's why mention of the we should go beyond the

profitability If we don't look at it that way that you are there to serve then you lose it and obviously that goes for the fa officials to um stop imposing players from your clubs into the youth teams and only pick the very best who will develop and come back conflict of interest if you are but I just want to ask you verica so how do we fix this this mess that we find ourselves in you know people are describing it as an embarrassment how do we get out of it This I know we are in

an era where Integrity doesn't matter much to a lot of people if you did the entire fa and the eso should be gone by now I know I know I know Mami I know people say that oh if you fail once you try again and you try again but this is not personal the black stars the football is for the people it's for the entire nation so when you walk into town with ideas and you try once twice Thrice and it's only getting worse it tells you one Thing it's either your ideas are not good

enough or you just don't have what it takes and unfortunately the result is indicating that the fa doesn't just have it and I hope that a few days after our defeats we will play today they will understand that maybe we just don't have it and we should leave for others to try because this is not their personal property we had trivialized things so much so that at some point people were beginning to feel that okay the team is Not performing because the day IU is in the team you know we scapat people to the extent

that we do not look at exactly what the problems are the good thing is that the media the ordinary fans People Like Us who went to the street to say that save Ghana Football we had one language the fact that our football is getting worse on the domestic front at the junior levels at the Black Star level and it's important that we retool and make a change without The doubt what we need to change today is not just a DNA for Ghana football for me as a policy student or a development student I do think

that a policy will cure a lot of these things we see and when CK mentioned profitability I was just thinking about one thing there is a chorus that goes on whether it's among the football people or the ordinary supporters and whether it is just a question of Suspicion or people having evidence it's a fact that it is believed That the fa places or some people at the fa are more concerned with their players playing at the national team than selecting the right players I have watched football I have been around for a while so you

almost cannot mistaken me to be woke in terms of telling why I think something things must be done right because you see you cannot have players who do not know each other and there is no cohesion I had seen us when the under 17 at Equador and others let's Even go to 209 when we won the World Cup most of the players we saw in the 209 Captain byid they transitioned to our national team it is why in Angola after we didn't qualify and we came we went all the way with dukovich then we went

to the World Cup most of these players were around for so long so you cannot discount the countries that we look up to and say that we like their football and we we enjoy what they do it's because they have a plan and they Pro It's a so Progressive that would include that you know this coach could move from under 17 to under 20 they have some experience under their buildt and they qualify to go to the black stars why is it that every time we want to get a coach for the Black Star we

are looking out it's because as people we have not placed importance in training our coaches graduating them making sure they have the skill set to be able to handle the black stars so we have failed in Different ways this is a sad moment I know everybody will be very heartbroken and upset but I do hope that what we are able to do at this time will make the changes re require otherwise unfortunately we may be speaking the same in a few months or years to come we have the qualifiers coming coming around in in uh

in March I think 2015 I do hope that whatever we have to do won't be the fa putting together a team to say that okay Coach OT Adu should go and we are Appointing another one it looks like it's the only thing they do every time we have failed and it is beginning to tell that that thing they do it as bad as their ideas and whatever it takes it is that they claim that they are doing at the fa to put put our football on the map again sports journalist CK akono former coach of

the black stars thank you both so much for your time with us fent stays uh so that we can pleasure have a nice Day you too fent stays with us so we can take some calls all right because this conversation won't be complete without you but listen here are the rules we want to hear from as many of you as possible so you have 30 seconds to tell us what's on your mind about the black stars all right what's wrong with the team is Ghana still a footballing nation what do we need to do to

recover okay 30 seconds each so we can hear from as many of you as possible you know the numbers 0302 26541 that's 0302 21654 the morning show is 9:25 everybody's heartbroken about the black stars and I mean we're just trying to figure it all out we've got fto in the studio we've got CK akuno former coach of the black stars on the line alongside Veronica come who's a sports journalist listen let let's let's get to the heart of things fento you have a question for Coach CK right yeah uh CK good morning um quick one

for you before I even ask my question did Otto uh come to you to seek advice before he took the Ghana job and what exactly did you tell him this is a question that Fifi Taki wants me to ask you um no but of course when um I think his first time when things were not really going on well I called him I I you know and we do talk every Now and then um I've met him in Germany uh a couple of times we've spoken and we have we are good friends he has good

character he's a good guy and and and that I will support him any any any time oh okay um here's my question you were getting out of the black stars team you were just leaving the team around 2004 when we didn't qualify uh since that incident 20 years ago we made a really good comeback from then on because two years later we qualify for The World Cup uh and then we we hosted the afcon then we did uh six semi-finals in a row made two finals in that period so that was a pretty good recovery

from a very low moment when you look at where we are right now not qualifying for the tournament from where you said what do you think we can do what steps must we take if we want to get back to the top for you what are the critical steps we must take right now I mean I think uh we have to have a plan that goes beyond Profitability we we need to look at our youth football you know I've always said this and I don't know how far is gone but if we don't do it

now we already late we have to look at our under 17 under 20 under 23 the local black stars and then the to the national team because if we don't do it now and we don't start to really try to strategize how to go about it continue to be talking like the way we're talking now where did the likes [Music] ofari this were was the best generation we had they played from the 17 you'll be surprised that Li and at Trum knew each other since 10 years they've been playing together since 10 years I just

recently found found out other when it happens like that there's some progression you know that they met in under 17 on 20 and to the and then at the time when we want we needed them most they delivered that is The black stars they made us proud all over the world their name is not but these guys started from somewhere I'm using them as an example because uh we were we were we we we were successful with them you know they played I think from the under 17 to the under 20s and then they got

into the black star and they did so well we have to go back again and do that that same thing if we don't do it you know now most of the time we we tend to the Professionals it's not bad but we need to have a home based place that we groom and if we for that they will also travel abroad and and a big place is the better you know but if we don't do that now if we don't look into it properly and do it well we'll still be standing we'll be talking about

the same issue in 5 six years time and that is my my biggest fear and CK says that we have to have a plan Beyond Profitability uh for anyone that probably has a doubt in what he meant by that CK just to clarify you're saying that we should have a plan that is targeted at giving the best young players in the country the opportunity when when you are asked to Ser when you are asked to do something for Ghana either coach assistant coach or whatever you are there to serve you are to Ser my brother

it is not about how much you make obviously You have to be paid for for for for the job but we have to understand this concept this understanding that we are there to serve to Serve the People football as we all know brings everybody together you can see NPP and NBC person talking about and they have the same language that is the only thing that brings us together after these elections what are we going to any any party who wins what are we going to talk about the football that we cherish so much we're Not

going to be in the in the afcon and it will be sad it will bring divisions we have to take this thing serious it's important yeah you know I I I recently went to Germany and the German The ghanians Who when they meet you any they were asking what is happening what I came I I came a few days ago it is the same thing people are worried you know so these things should be done properly and that is why I Mention of the we should go beyond profitability if we don't look at it that

way that you are there to serve then you lose it and obviously that goes for the fa officials to um stop imposing players from your clubs into the youth teams and only pick the very best who will develop and come back of interest if you are but I just want to ask you verica so how do we fix this this mess that we find Ourselves in you know people are describing it as an embarrassment how do we get out of it this I know we are in an era where Integrity doesn't matter much to a

lot of people if you did the entire fa and the eso should be gone by now I know I know I know Mama V I know people say that oh if you fail once you try again and you try again but this is not personal the black stars the football is for the people it's for the entire Nation so when you walk into town with ideas and you try once twice thri and it's only getting worse it tells you one thing it's either your ideas are not good enough or you just don't have what it

takes and unfortunately the result is indicating that the fa doesn't just have it and I hope that a few days after our defeat we will play today they will understand that maybe we just don't have it and we should leave for others to try because this not their personal property We had trivialized things so much so that at some point people were beginning to feel that okay the team is not performing because the they IU is in the team you know we scapegoat people to the extent that we do not look at exactly what the

problems are the good thing is that the media the ordinary fans People Like Us who went to the street to say that save Ghana Football we had one language the fact that our football is getting worse on the domestic front at The junior levels at the Black Star level and it's important that we retool and make a change without the doubt what we need to change today is not just a DNA for Ghana football for me as a policy student or a development student I do think that a policy will cure a lot of these

things we see and when CK mentioned profitability I was just thinking about one thing there is a chorus that goes on whether it's among the football people or the ordinary Supporters and whether it is just a question of Suspicion or people having evidence is a fact that it is believed that the fa places or some people at the sa are more concerned with their players playing at the national team than selecting the right players I have watched football I have been around for a while so you almost cannot mistaken me to be woke in terms

of telling why I think something things must be done right because you see you cannot have Players who do not know each other and there is no cohes I had seen us when the under 17 at Equador and others let's even go to 209 when we won the World Cup most of the players we saw in the 209 Captain byid they transitioned to our national team it is why in Angola after we didn't qualify and we came we went all the way with dukovich then we went to the World Cup most of these players were

around for so long so you cannot discount the countries that we look up To and say that we like their football and we we enjoy what they do it's because they have a plan and the pro it is so Progressive that would include that you know this coach could move from under 17 to under 20 they have some experience under their bels and they qualify to go to the black stars why is it that every time we want to get a coach for the black stars we are looking out it's because as people we have

not placed importance in training our Coaches graduating them making sure they have the skill set to be able to handle the black stars so we have fa filled in different ways this is a sad moment I know everybody will be very heartbroken and upset but I do hope that what we are able to do at this time will make the changes we require otherwise unfortunately we may be speaking the same in a few months or years to come we have the qualifiers coming coming around in in uh in March I think 2015 I do hope

That whatever we have to do won't be the fa putting together a team to say that okay could Oto AD should go and we are appointing another one it looks like it's the only thing they do every time we have failed and it is beginning to tell that that thing they do it's as bad as their ideas and whatever it takes it is that they claim that they are doing at the fa to put our football on the map again sports journalist CK akono former Coach of the black stars thank you both so much for

your time with us fent stays uh so that we pleasure have a nice day you too fent stays with us so we can take some calls all right because this conversation won't be complete without you start from lashibi Dono is on the line good morning Dono hello do we have Don yeah good morning Chief how are you do not bad at all talk to us oh in fact for me it's very bad and I I advise my wife about 3 Years ago that please take your hope and believe in the Black Star because it will

affect my dinner uh could you believe that the current Executives they want to extend their ATT they want to change the Constitution so that they can they can go for threat this shows that they have an exerior motive not for black star getting better but they are benefiting from something because if They were to they were voted for to make sure Ghana Sports stands especially Blackstar football and they are failing we are going down we going down n a war T country is able to trashes and they are sitting there and they are thinking of

in fact they are moving to change the Constitution so that they can run for a thir term then you should know that they have some they have something they benefiting from our loss and those that our taxpayers money is what is being Used must turn up Ghana is not a boss Nation again thank you boss thank you Don all right let's go to tan hello Kaba good morning coo good morning my boss I think we need to admit of course that we have failed we have completely failed and when you fail you go back and

restart AR fresh I think what Ghana needs right now is to admit that things have not gone well our soccer has gone down the drain so go back to the basics start from scratch it includes so many Things includes um changing the fa it includes changing the coach it includ even reinvented the entire team again build from the beginning and I believe believe that we should use this um moment when we are down to build up so that when the competition starts we'll be ready to take up the challenge and then those are names again

thank you thank you quaba all right Asante is in her good morning Asanti good morning Sir Chief you have 30 Seconds okay what I'm trying to say is we should have seen this forcoming cuz a whole footballing nation like Ghana for two consecutive aons we've come out from the group state which is a shame it's a far cry from what we are capable of doing especially when you look at our Trail where we've gone to semi-finals for about six times so there has to be a total overhaul changing everything changing Everyone there definitely people benefiting

from this this setup thank you thank you Asanti inacho you call us to 0302 26541 0551 997 all right let's hear from my people in Nea Hello Alex hello K good morning good morning to the team indeed you know I wouldn't take the uh happenings uh to the black stars in isolation I think the whole country to to the bottom there is Deterioration nothing is moving there is no leadership we see what is happening with the gam and all that the city I think it must be taken as a holistic issue there is no leadership

the quality leadership we don't have and interference politicians big people interfering they have clubs and they want their players to be put there it's a holistic thing we need a reset I don't want to go beyond the 30 seconds thank you thank you very Much Alex all right uh let's hear from chidiac in La good morning boss good morning mm you have a minister isn't it for you from sport there's oneing around the place yes what is their work they are there to be paid so that they consume the tax payers money drive V8 and

that's all nobody find anybody they prepare bills they go to C play they come back they say come and give account they say no account and we all sitting down in this country if it Is mam government but now every should be hung the air but in this case no thank you thank you chak all right we have time for one more call and it's our very own William from gum bu hi William good morning good morning how are you ah Chief I'm okay my 30 seconds is best sered by welcoming m i as for

her Friday she came Monday any strike we are planning against Jo FM we have cancelled it amen amen the only I benefit from black stars mhm they've been making me Win bet oh because I bet against them always they don't surprise me m Charlie like father like son like all right okay fent I I'll let you have the final word quickly before we go my 30 seconds yes I'm just going to say this that the government of Ghana must take an active interest in the way its national team is run the government of Ghana with

our Taxes fully 100% finances the national team yep so therefore you cannot sit aloof and watch as a certain group of individuals run down what is unifier in this country so the sports Minister who has shown no strong will in dealing with this fa in particular the government of Ghana from the presidency themselves what is their take on what is happening to our football what have they done what can they do why are they just watching while the football in this country is Destroyed more especially the national team which is financed by our taxes why

is the government so disinterested H because listen it is only here that we we quickly run to the uh issue of government interference every time we call for government interference in Morocco the fa president is Not Elected he's appointed FIFA has no problem with that because they finance the football with their taxes they built all these facilities with their taxes why are we Pumping money into the national team and the people have no see even when the people go and criticize OT says he prefers feedback from Jing Club instead of the ghanians what what is

all this anyway klet and his boys disappointed us uh listen let's soothe our heart